The is the thread for discussing teas, tisanes, and other herbal infusionsInfo on types of teas, where to buy, and how to brew: https://rentry.org/tea-pastebinPrevious thread: >>21625604
Someone gave me silver strands simao. It's pretty one note sage flavored with light bitterness and a very drying effect on the mouth. Not a fan I can see why they gave it awayWhat we sipping /tea/?
>>21650669Before
>>21650672After
>>21650669Your candle looks like a dildo
>>21650677Its just folded hands, anon
>>21650669It's too late for any sipping today. Had some tflz yesterday.I kind of have no creativity these days... so many cakes at reach of my hand, yet I always default to tflz that sits on top. I know it won't let me down and won't fuck with my head or sleep. I'm running out tho, BF can't come soon enough.
>>21650669Why is everything so fucking pink? It looks like pepto bismol vomit.
>>21650708it is a good easy reach if you find other sheng can leave you feeling anxiousI tend to prefer more punchy, Menghai type flavors, but I do like the relaxing effect of tflz
>>21650770I like those as well it's just that I usually don't get to sip until afternoon, and by that time, I want something easy. If I started in the morning, then sure, I can brew some menghai. I usually don't like caffeine in the morning, tho. Can't stand people who keep complaining about being tired and can't function until they have their 3rd morning coffee. Every time you need something from them, they are just in the process of getting their caffeine fix and have to keep mentioning it for some reason.
>>21650807>no talkie until I've had my Lao Man E gushu
>>21650702Anal toy
stop pretending not to just be a man in a frock.
>>21650829kino
>>21650709Pink and Green is a good color combo, tea is green. Obviously a good match. Sorry you don't have taste
>>21650669Oh wow. A real live puer lesbian. I told /tea/ they were real years ago and I was met with scorn and ridicule.
>>21651458>tea is greenWrong, it is also pink.
Who comes with me to the Berlin Tea Festival?https://www.instagram.com/berlinteafestival/
Popped up on my feed today. I like this guy, he's also from my home state of Indiana.https://youtu.be/heA5y8cbbZU
>>21650677for emergency use only
>>21652371I wish I was there, my friend. Have a sip for me.
Has anyone ever tried the FL Hekai?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=heA5y8cbbZUbe not frustrated
>>21650669I don't remember matthew asking what we're drinking.>>21651467Couldn't be lesbian and christian, that's an abomination unto godde.
>killing people over black tea dustlmao
This was my absolute favorite tea, it was the smoothest black tea I've ever had and I adored it. When they had that canal incident, all their tea got stuck on a ship and the company went out of business. I need recommendations for a smooth as fuck Ceylon English breakfast. Keep that normie shit away
>>21653101Maybe you could try Vahdam? It's been recommended here for indian tea
>>21653107Let me look it up, I've tried nearly every brand and Pic related is the closest in taste so far.
>>21653107I bought two of their better Assams and a few Darjeelings not too long ago, and they're very good.
i dont think ive ever had good tea from brazil or sri lanka
>>21653156Do they even make tea in brazil? I know they do in Africa and Java but Brazil?
what the fuck am I reading?
>>21653174they have the best terrain for mechanized tea production in the world but in terms of taste its very mediocre
>>21653195Bug spit boiled in hot water
>>21653195From what I hear it's actually a reaction of the leaves to being bitten, they release a substance that's supposed to ward off the bugs but happens to have a nice, distinctive sweet taste
>>21653195its worth trying, they have this at my local store, it does have a very unique sweet honey taste
>>21653195yeah this >>21653228 its the same reason Darjeeling and Oriental Beauty gets their flavours
>>21653253Hmm intriguing
>>21653228>>21653253that's pretty cool
wait till he hears about Chong Shi Cha
>>21653195>>21653253I think Muscatel Darjeeling specifically, not all Darjeeling is bitten by jassids. It's like the only good Indian tea. Good Oriental Beauty is incredible, but it needs to be high quality tea to start with or it can end up with a weird cloying chemical note.
>>21653293>I think Muscatel Darjeeling specificallyyes, Darjeeling has become like wagu sadly
im not into darjeeling at all, i feel like its too hard to brew them correctly, they have complex tastes but it feels difficult to get a strong cup that doesnt have too many tannins. ive had japanese hybrids that ive enjoyed but ive had to pay out the ass for them, plenty of great chinese and taiwanese teas that are cheap as shit and almost impossible to fuck up.
>>21653317>Darjeeling has become like wagu sadlyNot that anon but in what way?
oh no you don't. the tea thread stays alive.
/tea/ sisters, we have to bump so these deranged frog raiders don't win.
I'm doing my part till the mods wake up.
>>21654063YOU HAVE MY GAIWAN
To those who have bought previous years of W2T's 'Shulloween' offerings, how were they? Average, decent, etc? I skip it every year, but if prices aren't inflated, I may like to participate this year. I only wish they did something similar for dark tea/liubao.
You people convinced me to try chinese tea so I bought some raw puerh. What can I expect?
>>21654076Oh no. If you're a woman you can expect tea drunkenness which often leads to domestic violence. Fortunately most puer drinkers are lesbians or Chinese so they don't do much damage when they strike their partners with their little pillow fists. The tea itself tastes like a pile of raked wet leaves on a crisp, gray 50 degree fall afternoon mixed with a slight bit of a rank fermented taste.
>>21654112>tea drunkenness Not a woman, but please elaborate on this.>tastes like a pile of raked wet leaves on a crisp, gray 50 degree fall afternoon mixed with a slight bit of a rank fermented taste. Looking forward to it then. I bought a whole ass cake so it's getting drunk one way or the other.
>>21654073Mostly fine, it's basically just a bunch of cheap shu with a small number of the more expensive minis thrown inTo me it's probably worth its price but not quite the amazing deal they paint it to be>>21654076If you provide some more detail about what you bought it'd be easier, raw puer is a pretty broad category
>>21654180https://www.kongmountaintea.com/tea-from-yunnan/2020-sugar-cloud-yi-wu-yunnan?rq=sugar
>>21654179>elaborate on tea drunkenness No. Perhaps another anon will. But in a nutshell tea can make you feel drunk.>looking forward to itYou know that crisp, earthy smell on a cool fall day? That's puer. But it has also has a fermented funk which combined with the crisp dead leaf flavor makes for a strange brew.
>>21654188It's not too likely to have funky tastes at that age, but it will have mellowed out a bitFor younger raw, maybe you can imagine a brighter, fruity-ish version of green tea, sometimes with florality, some bitterness, possibly some astringency. Yiwu so probably on the softer, sweeter side
>>21654179aka cha zui. it happens when you drink a few rounds of gongfucha, each tea has this "energy", they call it cha qi. it's highly disputed and considered by many to be a spurious bit of nonsense, and that it's just caffeine which causes these effects.i would say it's a bit of both. there are definitely subtler influences contained in certain teas, like mycotoxins, or theanine and caffeine entourage effects with other polyphenols, but the "face flushed, loopy, sweating" cha zui usually comes when you lack caffeine resistance. after a few times it just doesn't happen any more, unless you wait a few weeks between gongfucha sessions.just pay attention to your body when you're drinking the stuff, decide for yourself what you feel like when you do. it's what got me into tea in the first place. i'm a huge pothead who weaned himself at least temporarily away from the bud by merit of the impact of white teas. they have high ECGC which happens to target the cb1 and cb2 receptors well enough to alleviate my more trying urges to smoke. plus the ritual is nice.now you're as in the know as anyone else about tea drunkenness and cha qi.
>>21654073I always pick up a grab bag because the linen bag they come in is cool and it's nice to have a stash of morning shou always ready to go without picking from a cake or a tuo. I dont especially pay attention to the quality or the notes, but they're all fine. I highly recommend it.
>>21654201this is misleading. all raw puerh is bitter, but if you use very little tea and flash steep, it will be at least tolerable.
>>21654220I said there'll be some bitter, try reading it again
>>21654225sorry. long day and i'm a total prick anyway so my bad.
>>21654230No problem, gotta keep people on their toes
>>21654188>>21654076young raws are bittersweet, tart, fruity and have some similarities to green teanot everyone likes them, as the bitterness and tartness can be high. as a result, these teas need careful brewingthe one you bought should be milder than most
>>21653374muscatel flavour is what makes Darjeeling Darjeeling but with pesticides and selling tea in bulk as a commodity material its just become a region where the tea came from
>>21654073honestly all the shus taste the same from white2tea. the only exception is trapbird but only because its so smooth and thick(but little flavour). grabbed a bag of mini balls and its convenient to dump one in a gaiwan rather than breaking up a cake or brick>>21654076if its young(under 3 years maybe?) you'll probably find it very bitter to brew with boiling so try treating it like a green tea
>>21654388>honestly all the shus taste the same from white2tealumber slut is the one that stands out. the others I've tried have been okay, but not any better than cheaper Dayi and Haiwan ripes
got hit with import customs on my jesses tea house purchase so now im almost paying a dollar per gram
>>21654760damn anon, buy from somewhere else next timeI hope you still enjoy your order even though you paid a bit to much
>>21654760Would you please elaborate more on this? Are you getting an order delivered to USA? At what point did you get hit with import customs? How much do they demand in percentage? If you have a screenshot, that would be appreciated too.
>>21654807im in norway and most of the stuff i buy online uses a digital solution to include import tax in the price. but they dont have all their shit in order, there might be some double sales taxing going on here ive bough from american online stores that do all this shit correctly, you know its done correctly when you dont get a letter from the postal service where they want you to pay tolls and sales tax
>>21653355>i feel like its too hard to brew them correctlyyup, I brew mine at 80°C, anything above will make it bitter>difficult to get a strong cupyup, Darjeeling is a bad choice if you are in for a strong cup>plenty of great chinese and taiwanese teas that are cheap as shit and almost impossible to fuck upyup, but it will never taste like a well prepared cup full of Darjeeling
Are Genmaicha the brewing times and temp in the rentry correct?
Where can i buy the cheapest / best value yancha?
>>21655642>cheapestDon't bother unless it's for budget constraints. Fullchea has some big bags for real cheap. Drinkable but it doesn't really taste like yancha.>best valueSo far, I think the best value is wuyi star tins. King tea mall and dragon tea house both stock these. 10c/g range for nice yancha.
>>21653101I haven't had the tea you're referring to but I'll tentatively recommend this.
Maybe an abstract question, but do any of you associate certain kinds of tea with any particular sense of 'feelings' or mindsets? As an example, I often associate shou pu'er with gentleness, maybe because it can tend to be very smooth, sweet, and not harsh. I've been drinking it around times I meditate recently, and the sweet, smooth aromas settle me into the mindset for it nicely. Similarly, I associate liu bao with reading and scholarship/learning, perhaps because of the grounded, earthy aromas many of them have. I used to sometimes have it when reading novels at length.
>>21656177which novels?
>>21656177I associate ripe puerh with cool winter mornings. A nice quiet morning with the fireplace getting started, tunes playing, and the sound of the kettle roaring. Ripes make me feel like I'm waking up from the dead.
SWEETEST TEAS PLEASE
>>21656177>any of you associate certain kinds of tea with any particular sense of 'feelings' or mindsets?what>I meditateohh>>21656218Fuding White Peony
>>21656177No, but I like hojicha on a rainy day.
>>21656245ya but which un?also, to be fair, he's not on an unusual path. what with the rich animism traditions of china and cha qi, having themes tied to particular teas has a great deal of precedent.
>>21655745yeah, I've been thinking wuyistar or sea dyke, which KTM also stocksI've had some of KTM's own unbranded yancha and also some 1$/gram tie luo han. but desu I just want a good daily drinker
>>21656177>white teait's extremely calming for me, I usually have it when I'm anxious>ripe pu-erh, liu baogood palate cleansers after a heavy meal, easy on the stomach>rawtired or sleepy? this will put you back on your feet
>>21656218try the 2016 lao bai cha cake from KTM. very cheap for an aged white tea and very sweet. makes me think of honey, marzipan, cocoa, oranges, cinnamonI have some yunnan whites too which are not as desserty, but have more mouthfeel and strength
>>21656436bet. first person to seriously answer this question asked over several spaces familiar and passionate about tea. so thank you.the only caveat is that it's coming out of your ass if it don't deliver.No really, thank you.
>>21656431Worth a try for daily drinker type stuff. Not gotten around to trying sea dyke myself but have heard the quality's reasonable for the cost.
>>21656177Nope. Don't think this is fair since tea varies too much.
>>21656486runners up for me include dancong chatou from white2tea and that shancha from thetea.plthere are different types of sweetness, so it's hard to answer definitively
>>21656177>I often associate shou pu'er with gentlenessdespite lesbians having the highest rate of domestic abuse? Interesting.
>>21657109is that a real stat? if so i wonder if it's due to the fact that women who haven't undergone "tgd" don't have the cognitive dissonance requisite to keep the violence a secret
>>21657125>is that a real statI don't know, it probably isn't, I never checked and frankly, I never had a reason to. I'm content with simply shitposting about it.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Domestic_violence_in_lesbian_relationshipsoh hey, it actually is.
>>21656180Mostly Japanese webnovels or LNs. I would like to dive into gangster and horror novels too. Having tea ritualizes the experience a little, helping settle me into the reading mindset instead of focusing on outside things.
>>21657139>lesbian batteringnew skill tree unlocked
Lately I've been doing a sort of grandpa brew in my gaiwan where I only pour off half the brew into my cup, and it's pretty neat.
Anyone use Upton Tea imports? Looking to stock up a bit for some decent teas, anyone have any recommendations?
>>21657957I did a few orders from there years ago when I was starting out and wanted to figure out what I liked by ordering a little of everything. For Chinese style teas I'd stick to the vendors that specialize in that obviously. They have really tasty herbal tea blends and rooibos if youre into that sort of thing. Can't go wrong with a nice Earl Grey either.
>>21657967Know what I honestly haven't had a good earl gray in a long ass time. I'll happily get some now that you mentioned it
>>21657651That sounds neat anon. What kind of tea have been using for it? Any problems with oversteeping?
>>21657993I've used sheng (young and aged), rolled oolong, and shoumei. Brewing between 1.5 and 2 grammes of tea has given me no issues so far, but I've also been drinking as quickly as possible without burning myself. This probably wouldn't work for less intense sessions, nor with much more leaf.
Wanting a pretty high caffeine black tea for the morning. I don't resteep. I don't add anything to it. I realize this is sort of a broad question but I don't know enough about it to get more specific. I'm a bit lost if I should go with Indian or Chinese teas even?
>>21658256yeah just snag any old assam.
>>21658256further, stick with tea bags, or better yet, buy some decent tasting yunnan gold or some such and break that shit so it breaks what's left of the cell walls in the leaf and you extract ALL the caffeine instantly. since you only brew once, you'll get *everything* out of it.
https://virginiaspairteas.blogspot.com/2020/03/tea-under-uv.html
>Hmm, I haven't been in that store in a long time, lets see if I can find the stuff I'm looking for in there>Oh wow, they have a tea section, looks rather decent>Scented tea? Might as well grab a bag and give it a go when I'm back home>It's really shitty green tea with a mild scentWell that was a disappointment. I was lucky so far with my occasional tea purchases in random stores, but this was a waste of time.
>>21658411Scented tea is usually terrible. They know that they just have to make it smell good and people will buy it, even if it tastes very mediocre. And they'll use the cheapest tea they canThe trad ones like earl gray and jasmine green can be good though
>>21650610Has anyone tried this?
>>21658256>I don't resteep.
>>21658484How much does it cost to ship this monstrosity?
>>21658489
>>21658493Buy it
>>21658493>SurfaceIn contrast to Underground?I'd like to recive my tea melon by tunneling please.
>>21658515In contrast to air.
>>21658485Imagine being poor.
>>21658525Indian teas are fine with no resteeping, but many Chinese teas need some resteeps to open up and extract all the flavor, especially the rolled ball or needle shaped ones
>>21658256keemun or golden yunnan are my favorites. theres nothing like the first steep from them in terms of intensity but also complexity of flavour
>>21658372I've had those Great Mississippi Tea Company offerings. I didn't care much for the greens, but the black and oolongs were okay. Nothing was worth the very expensive price tag.
>>21658256Highest caff tea I ever had was a Kenyan CTC Assam style black tea.>>21658557Keemun and Golden Yunnan are lighter in caffeine than your typical Assam>>21658548>but many Chinese teas need some resteeps to open up and extract all the flavorYou can get away with doing longer steeps >6 minutes at temps ~85°C. It mostly comes down to leaf size. Broken leaf teas steep a lot faster than whole leaf teas.Also note that caffeine sensation is highly dependend on your current tolarance. The effect goes from crawling up the wall to falling asleep with the same tea, depending on how you have been rolling the past weeks.
>>21658694>>21658256Ruby 18 is another high caffeine black tea, but it's pricier
Drink shou with me, anons.
The grasshopper bitten tea makes me wonder if there is a /tea/ equivalent of civet coffee. Is there?
>>21659526Look up "Chong Shi Cha", they feed tea leaves to insects and then collect the droppings which are brewed as a form of tea. Supposedly tastes good too.
>>21659509I'll break into my camphornaught I thinkEvenings are getting chilly here.
>>21659542oh, NOW someone wants to talk about bug shit tea>>21653274
>>21659542>Shi Cha>Shit TeaWhat did they mean by this?
>>21659598>be tea farmer>walk out one morning to inspect your drying tea>ofuck.jpg>caterpillars have absconded with the leaves>all that's left are their little turds>damn, i had a buyer lined up for today>what do?>oh, i know!!!>buyer comes>well, all i have is this bug shit tea, very traditional, very rare>buyer agrees>whew, at least i'll survive this year>next season, the buyer returns demanding more bug shit>wtf.jpg
>>21659598Seems like a normal tea name to me
>>21659622that one's a misnomer meant to deter plant snatchers, whereas bug shit tea is literally the shit from a bug's ass who has eaten tea.
>>21659631I know, I was just talking about the name only
>>21659631Has anyone sampled this delicacy?
>>21659631Is this like those coffee beans that are shit out by monkeys or something? Who the fuck would buy and drink this stuff?
can i do grandpa style in one of these cups? i'm lazy and don't want to struggle with complicated brewing methods. just want to put oolong (since it can be brewed at just about any temp from what i've read) in a cup of hot water and use the lid to keep the leaves from floating into my mouth. thanks
>>21659652Some anon did a while ago. Not bad apparently
>>21659807>>21659526Keep up.
>>21659809For sure. Drinking straight out of the gaiwan was how it was done way waaaay back in China. If you haven't used a gaiwan before, I don't recommend you begin by repeatedly bringing it close to your face.
>>21659819but wouldn't leaving the tea steeping like that make is really bitter?
>>21659841Yes.
>>21659841>but wouldn't leaving the tea steeping like that make is really bitterThat's why you're constantly adding the water back in when you drink grandpa style. You drain it down to half, top it off which dilutes what remains and drink that. Repeat until it becomes unpalatable or you are sated. The amount to use changes depending on specifically what you're using but that's part of the experience just seeing what's your ideal taste.
>>21659897How do I know when I'm sated? Your method sounds like how a tea fiend would drink tea. It reminds me of hard drug addicts and how they use drugs.
>>21660012>Just over $220 on Yunomi
>>21659614>be tea farmer>walk out one morning to inspect your drying tea>ofuck.jpg>X happens>next season, the buyer returns demanding more X tea>>wtf.jpgthere's like 4 different teas with the exact same story including raw puerh, eastern beauty(and all bug bitten) and lapsang souchong
>>21659579Any comparisons to lumber slut?
>>21659809That's actually the traditional old school way to use the gaiwan
>>21659841Depends what tea you're drinking. For oolong it works fine because most oolongs don't get bitter. Same with longjing and ripe puerh.
>monday, chug kettle's worth of black tea>feel fine>tuesday, chug kettle's worth of green tea>feel fine>wednesday, chug kettle's worth of black tea>feel fine>thursday, chug kettle's worth of green tea>nearly shit myselfwtf
>>21660259Avoid green tea on an empty stomach. Too many katechins AFAIK
>>21660263this, also young raw puerh. used to get stomach cramps drinking green/sheng on an empty belly
Drinking Teahome Selected Roasted Alishan Jin Xuan with a buttered croissantBretty gud combo
>>21660251I make the comparison of Camphornought to Lumber Slut. They both have rich woody vibes in a way that stands out from the usual factory ripes. Lumber Slut is like a liking a 2x4 from the lumber yard. Dry, a little thin, but weird and very pleasant. Camphornought is like a stroll through a muddy pine forest after a rain. It's darker, thicker body and mouthfeel. It's also made with better quality material.I like both but I love Camphornought. You won't be disappointed picking up a cake.
Finally got my order from Vietsun I placed in like the first week of September. This is what a 50 dollar sampler (plus20 for lmao tariffs) gets you. I went from having no tea to being spoiled for choice, don't even know where to start. I do now really see the need for a tasting journal. I probably won't order from them for a good long while so it'll be nice to have an idea of what I want when I go back.
>>21660758I have a cake of the 2024 Gang Piang, it's pretty good. Plummy, which is interesting to see in such a young tea
>>21660758The deep forest black I've got last year was very good. Might get some this year on BF.
>>21660758Looks like a nicely well-rounded selection. I also think a tea journal would be pretty chill to do. Wonder how those láo cais are.
>That comfy feeling after you clean off lime from your kettle with vinegar, replace your water filter, and scrub off stains from your teaware.Oh yeah, lads. It's teatime.
Drank CTC Assam with malk and sugars for 3 weeks. Now back to sipping my stash of Awazon raw peurhs. Budget tea is good.
>>21660993People in the online tea autist communities often underrate the value of just having a lot of one cheap tea so you can get to know it, experiment with brewing etc.You often here "sample first, buy less but better quality" etc. Fuck that, a cake is a sample and if it's too expensive to cake, I'm not buying it
Help me tea autists, what should I buy as a gift for someone who drinks five cups of Ahmad black tea daily? I know she wants to try puer, but I'm afraid of dropping money on a whole cake that was actually overpriced and not particularly good. Not that I can tell but still.
>>21661041>A cake is a sampleThis. 'Samples' are fun, but getting a plentiful amount of whatever you buy means you get to tackle on how to best tune and experience that tea for your preferences. Almost every time someone says they don't like a tea, there will be something they could've done better in preparing it, and throughout the process of learning this, an appreciation and understanding can be made.
>>21661141Maybe get her a black tea cake? Or a black tea/white tea mixed cake? You don't have to worry about whether she'll like puerh while still being a novelty for her since it's in cake form.
>>21661141>I know she wants to try puer,Sticky rice shou puer is a really nice bet if you want something inexpensive but still nice to test the waters.
>>21658694Isn't Kenyan CTC very bitter or did I just get some poor quality? I haven't had it in about 8 years but that's what I remember. Is there a seller you would reccomend for the US? Thanks
>>21661702I had Twinings "Kenyan High Grown" 125g lose tea. Bit pricey but it is a good tea. Not bitter
>>21661141Just get bunch of samples. I'm sure at least some she will enjoy and the exploration aspect is as important as the taste itself in a tea journey. Something like this would surely be a hit>>21660758
>>21661141You could get her a sample pack, like the one on YS or this one:https://www.thesteepingroom.com/products/introduction-to-puerhIf you do want a whole cake, pick up the cheapest Dayi / taetea ripe you can find. KingTeaMall and QuicheTeas has them, there's also a Dayi store on Amazon with worse prices but might make sense shipping wise
>>21661141I'm in a similar boat, but I was thinking about gifting someone a tea set.I've gotten tea from Yunnan Sourcing but none of their teaware, has anyone bought them before?
>>21662014If you just want teaware it's probably better to go with AliExpress or a specialist teaware store. But I'm sure YS teaware is fineTaiwanTeaCrafts has some cool teaware
>>21650835Kys
Lao shu, sheng puerhThis stuff is good
I sure am thankful for being deservedly treated like a second class citizen on every store I try to buy stuff from.As a lib I sure feel owned right now.Thank you Trump.
>>21659807The coffee beans are shat out by cats and they taste like ass. Pun not intended. Its one of those things noveau rich mongrels autofellate over, anyone with an aristocratic aspect would immediately understand that it is awful.
>>21662055I buy a lot of stuff from ali but for food grade items, especially ceramics, I wouldn't want to risk it. I fear the glaze would have lead or some toxic pigment.
>>21662214Porcelain should be fine, for weird painted ceramics I would be more concernedThis set looks nice if you want a gaiwan. It has that old school traditional look with some level of handpainting: https://kingteamall.com/en-pl/collections/gaiwan/products/jingdezhen-qing-hua-ci-blue-white-porcelain-gaiwan-140-cc-175-cc-tea-cup-35-cc-ktm000?variant=32906135568487
Why the fuck is BF so far away?I want to consooooome already. Quick Will do a surprise release+discount its a perfect time to load up on samples and then get cakes of what I liked on BF.
>>21662298He just did a discount thoughNot sure what I will buy for BF, we'll see what the sales are. I want some good value roasted oolong probably. We'll see about pu-erh. If I buy young sheng, it will be from cspuerh unless FL can come up with some amazing value Menghai tea.
>>21662323>He just did a discount thoughHe did but it was jingmai only and I dont find that stuff interesting. >If I buy young sheng, it will be from cspuerhAlready have the naka and zodiac, dont see anything else cool.
>>21662334>dont see anything else coolI would probably buy the 200g Yin Banzhang cake that TeaDB likedOr the 200g Yihao cake from this year, that's their flagship blend of sorts
>>21661141>herOriental beauty oolong
I'm the only one who loves awazon
>>21662014I've gotten a cheap gaiwan from YS once and it was okay, but I'm still eyeing this onehttps://yunnansourcing.com/products/mutton-fat-jade-porcelain-blue-and-gold-bamboo-tea-setPretty expensive but really beautiful
>>21662491>By Express (5 - 7 Business Days) (Shipping cost + Tariffs), Shipping: $110.19Forget it
>>21662512When are they bringing back slow shipping?
Who sells cheap white brick tea without high shipping fees?
>>21662491Awazon's great. It's a shame for our burger bros
>>21662520You could look around on dragonteahouse. Fullchea also has some cheap ones
>>21662550Are tariffs actually being collected? I thought there was a continued delay.
>>21662615No idea. I assumed after reading anon's post about shipping above it was enforced already.Are they really still pussying around on it?
>>21662615>>21662623It's not a tariff issue, it's customs since de minimis got cancelled.
How long until normalfags discover Japanese green tea, causing prices to double? Or can the Japanese find a way to dump them some mid-grade blend so I can keep buying the good stuff?
>>21662693They already did this for matcha/gyokuro.As long as regular sencha doesn't get memed I'm fine.
>>21662550Is Awazon a play on Amazon?
>>21663050No idea. The store is fairly old, so idk if it's just coincidence
>>21662550also a shame for kraut bros, they don't ship there aswell
>>21663050Been around longer than amazon.
>>21660758I hope you enjoy the sampler, anonDrinking 2024 Giang Piang right now. A bit smoky, plummy, leathery. Unique flavour for a young raw, not sure if these are regional characteristics or the processing. It's almost like it has some Bulang characteristics but in a soft and mellow sheng
>>21663050It's the other way around apparently.
>>21662298I also can't wait. Maybe someone does a Halloween deal aside from white2tea (not that interested in more shu)
Spent about €90 this week on this teaware from Taobao. Waiting to get assfucked (with sand) for the shipping fee
>>21664548Good lookin' stuff. Glass gaiwans seem cool. Let me know how it compares to pottery. Xi Shi is the best teapot shape.And an ISO cup and bowl. I got one too last year. It collects dust lol
>>21664577Thanks! I love white ceramics because it lets me see the color of the brew, and I honesly don't know why they're not the n.1 option in most sites. I'll post updates on the glass gaiwan once it arrives. I'm honestly most excited about the cabbage gaiwan lol
>>21664548Is this superbuy or is there a better agent?It feels like they always chink me on the shipping calculation.
>>21662500That looks great but it'll be stained yellow immediately.
2024 Bangwai Small Trees. I'll be sad when it's gone, but not as sad as I was when the Big Trees ran out. Shoutout to Xi Shi gang.Shapely, isn't it.>>21664625Cute.
>>21664653i bought a cup with fake patina like that because it came with a tea pot and now it has real patina on top of the fake one and it just looks really silly
>>21664640This is CSSBuy. I used superbuy for my previous teaware purchase and paid 45€ shipping on 40€ worth of teaware
Hello, I just had my first tea. It was a 2020 Sugar Cloud Yi Wu and I have several questions. Firstly why do people say it turns bitter after a few steepings? I did 20 out of 7g worth of tea and it was fine. Second, I ended up maiming the fuck out of the cake because I didn't have a pick to pry the leaves. Why wasn't it bitter after this? On a side note tea itself was nice, tasted like collard greens and left my tongue feeling dry for some reason. 8/10 would recommend.
>>21664732>Firstly why do people say it turns bitter after a few steepingsTea will not usually turn bitter, just get weaker / less interestingSounds like you probably did quite light steeps if you got a whole 20The yiwu sheng you got is probably very mellow and forgiving of mishaps, a bit of broken leaf will not bother it The dry tongue feeling is astringency, it is common in some teas, especially common in sheng puerh
>>21664727Please share your experience with them. Superbuy being Jewish really puts a break on my taobao adventures. >>21664732Tea turns bitter if you overbrew it(steep it for too long). Yiwu shouldn't be very bitter to begin with so you have really big margin of error compared to different regions. >tasted like collard greensThe yiwu I've had was very fragrant and sweet. Like water from can of peaches but obviously not full of sugar.
>>21665188Nice, have you tried it yet? It looks like it smells like dirt, in a good way.
>>21665224Sounds like good shit, nice find.
>>21660758Alright finally cracked it open. I first tried the raw puehr. Had a very nice faint prune scent, but that's sort of all it had going for it. Tried three cups (boiling water, 60 seconds a rip, no wash 3 grams for 80 or so Ml despite it saying 100)Really left a dry mouth sensation. Not a great start but I'm ready to try more later.
Why do some chinese teas comes in cakes? Is there any difference between cakes and loose leaf?
I miss matcha bros. My matcha source is too busy to go to Japan.
>>21665470I know it's sacrilege, but for some teas, I just outright western brew them. I'd say try that tomorrow. You might get better flavor. Most raws are usually too mid for me. They remind of cranberry seltzer at best. Too pussy to try anything "aged" even though I like the camphorous kind of raws, just don't like the idea of drinking toxic mold juice.
>>21665496I don't know and I legitimately hate it. It was probably strictly for historical logistic reasons.
>>21665496For easy stacking and transport historically. In recent years people seem to cake random shit just so it's a cake, for marketing.There's slight differences in brewing since you might have to account for compression slwoing things down. It also seems to age slower the tighter the compression is.Don't worry about it much.
>>21665188I hate blind buying pu'er. Glad you like it. I've come to the conclusion I like ripes that are dry stored and shipped.
>>21665507Good idea. I'll try it tomorrow as you say. That's the nice part about samplers you get to just fuck around and try everything.
>>21659631Where do I buy this?
>>21665470>3 grams for 80mLI would double the amount of tea and do shorter (5-10sec or so) brews.
Im considering "growing" mintWhich mint leaf would you suggest is the most delicious? The store bought one im drinking is peppermint.
>>21665599Why did you put "growing" in quotes?
>>21665507>Too pussy to try anything "aged" even though I like the camphorous kind of raws, just don't like the idea of drinking toxic mold juiceDon't be afraid anon, all the hong kong grandpas are doing fine despite drinking litres of the most aggressively aged puerh on the planet
>>21665519I've never noticed any effect of storage conditions on ripe unless it's Hong Kong traditional or like 20+ years old
>>21665599grow in a pot because that fucker spreads like crazy
>>21665915I've had some dried out dead cakes from some places, tasted fine. I got one that was stored loose in the self described wet store "Traditional Hong Kong" way and it was way too strong for me.
>>21666230Oh yeah, that's the wettest possible extreme that isn't just tea that got flooded for some reason
>>21664872Didn't know about the jewishness of Superbuy. They do seem to try and fleece you every step of the way, from the currency conversion to the shipping costs. CSSBuy seems okay so far. It's a bit cumbersome to top up the account because many of the card paying methods don't work well. Also it looks like you can only ultimately pay for things with your in-store balance, so there's the risk of leaving unused balance in your account. The free QC photos are alright. I'll be updating you guys once I ship my stuff and report on that experience!
After about a year giving another chance to the spring small trees lao man e sample. Still don't like it at all. 4 steeps in and its still bitter... so so bitter. Despite this and my previous experience I will not learn and still wonder if the $23 for sample of sweet gushu is worth it. Learn from my mistakes as I'm unable to.
>>21666320Yes, it's a love or hate terroir. The bitterness is not a bug, it's a feature.
>>21666328I don't mind some bitterness but this is getting dangerously close to the straight up chemical/poison bitterness of cheap cakes that wanted to kill me unless you wait 10 years for it to get better. I was promised the bitterness would be short lived and there would be sweetness as a reward. 5th steep in and maybe the bitterness is getting weaker but at this point its hard to trust anything I taste.
>>21666338Well the spring small trees is the most bitter tea in the storeAlso, the bitterness from the bitter varietal hangs around
>>21666393i like bitter tea, any recommendation?i like ooloon that is steep for quite a while, also tie guan yin is pretty good
>>21666434Young sheng in general, especially from Menghai. And especially southern Menghai like that Lao Man EIf you want to sample somewhat fancy ones, cspuerh has a cool sampler with a selection of minicakes, including some strong and bitter shengs
>>21666563thanks
FL autumn releases when?
>>21666620I hear some locations aren't even harvesting this autumn because they still have unsold spring tea. The demand is low this year. We'll see what FL cam get.
>>21666669they should lower the prices, I can help them free up some storage
>>21666693They already lowered them this year, we'll see if they fall furtherThe sale on Jingmai teas suggests they need to move those in particular
>>21666666
So my understanding for pu erh is that the first steep actually removes most of the caffeine. Especially if it's boiling water. How true is this? Because I enjoy my teas and like to get as many steeps as possible but I also don't want 500mg of caffeine.
>>21666907>How true is this?It's not true. I mean, unless you do an undrikable 10 minute steep or something
>>21666907Not true at all, iirc you have to boil the tea for around 10-15 minutes to extract most of the caffeine. There's a research paper that's been linked here a few times but I can't be assed to find it in the archives
>>21666907To add to that, if your puerh is in tightly pressed cake, it won't even come apart in one steep and the subsequent steeps will be stronger
I must say I got a bit bored with young raw and am gravitating towards aged stuff
any recommendations for oolongs that can >handle any water temp>are nutty/milky>have a nice mouthfeel
>>21667173>>handle any water tempAll oolongs can handle boiling. Dancongs can be more finicky than others>>are nutty/milky>>have a nice mouthfeelI would recommend roasted Taiwanese oolongs. Wuyi Yancha is strongly charcoal roasted goes more towards coffee and dark chocolate notes.If you want the best value on those, I recommend Teahome, but you have to use automatic translation and try to navigate their weirdly organised site:https://www.teahome.com/product/ao202700/Selected roasted Alishan Jin Xuan should be exactly what you're looking for. Buy their dong ding too, that's their house specialty and is also quite nutty
>>21667190thanks for the quick response. do you have any input on white2tea or farmerleaf? looking for teas that can get here very quickly, 2 to 5 business days
>>21667173i drank tie gyan yin for a week out of a cup filled with leaves at my dads place in the middle of nowhere with a really shitty kettle, sometimes with water out of a old thermos with permanent coffee taste and random ass temps when we went hiking or flying drones, sometimes i reused leaves the next morning with whatever was in the cup and i was just enjoying the shit out of permanent tea time every day because i brought books instead of a modern phone or computer. walking around in nautre with you big dumb tea cup and just throwing the leaves out into nature when they are spent is such a great feeling, the tea drunk you get when you rawdog life, boost test by having small arguments with your dad and having no alone to waste gooning, lots of green stuff on the ground, pretty tea leaves in your cup, is highly recommended.try to avoid high 90s celsius tho, the heat really gets the bitter tastes out
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a4PqGTGeyYY
>>21667233I hope also prices for aged tea will decrease.
>>21666968I started out only liking aged puer but once I gave young raw a second chance I really came to like it. I bought like 8 cakes and enjoy them all, but I find myself drinking aged stuff almost exclusively again. I'll have a young raw like once a month just to switch things up.Hopefully those cakes age well because they're not getting finished any time soon.
>>21667233Sus clickbait channel. Be very critical and skeptical about what you hear in this.
>>21665507Alright I forgot to say I did give it a try. It's definitely not much of an improvement western style (6 grams in about 250 oz of water for five minutes) There definitely was a faint fruity aftertaste but that was quick vanishing as opposed to what I'm used to with some greens. I suppose I can try even more later but I'm not really feeling that strongly about this one but I don't want to just toss it. I suppose next I'll try like what the one anon suggested and do 10 second brews
Love me tea, love me footy, teabag in, splash of milk, bosh, simple as
>>21667568Invited the neighbours over for a BBQ. Tossed a few tesco burgers in the oven and had a nice sit in the garden.
>>21667568Post your din dins.
>>21665507>I know it's sacrilege, but for some teas, I just outright western brew them.It's not. I western brew everything I drink.
>>21659509ok
>>21667776>kek worshiper>lead straineranon...
>>21667782In my defense, the strainer is tin and I bought the teaboat when I was still new and didn't know any better. Only reason I haven't replaced it is I haven't found a frog teaboat that tickles my autism yet.
>>21667199Farmerleaf specializes in young sheng puerh and carries a small selection of atypical yunnan oolongs. I've never had their oolongs but people seem to like them and they are a good place to buy sheng.White2tea is a more generalist vendor. I'm not a fan of their style of marketing and descriptions, but they have some solid teas. For sheng I would prefer Farmerleaf, but w2t has a lot of other stuff. Their only oolong I had was the dancong chatou, I enjoyed it quite a bitIf you're fixated on oolong in particular, I would probably go for a specialist vendor
Anyone got a cheap long jing they recommend? Not expecting miracles but I'd like it to have the correct long jing taste.
>>21668025I think someone recommended the one from kingteamall
>>21667233Those china collapsing 2 more weeks slop channels still exist?
>>21667356>>21668498A lot of them are funded by a literal cultThey're the same people behind those fancy Chinese dance shows that your the worldTea feels like it's on a slow incline in the WestMeanwhile coffee is on a sharp rise in China, I wouldn't think this would impact full leaf tea consumption (aside from the stuff boba shops use)
>>21668517China is kind of in a crisis and some tea prices have fallenBut yeah, it's hardly enough to justify the falungongslop
>>21668498>is china collapsing? yes, constantly>will china collapse?no, even 80 million dead under mao didnt cause it to collapse, the state is literally too big to fail. chinks will eat bitter because that has always been their lot in life
>>21668766>the state is literally too big to failI'm sure all the Chinese emperors said the same thing right before losing the mandate of heavenBut yeah, I agree, there aren't any major signs of political instability
>>21668806there's been lots of protests and apparently a lot of people haven't been paid for work for months to the point they're firebombing factories and banks have stolen saving accounts from thousands BUT the ccp are very good a disappearing and silencing people. even if the government collapsed a new commie figurehead would just be installed
>the tea has landed in americawell, dodged one there.but i do like rolling the dice, so YES. YES ANOTHER ORDER. AHAHAHAHAHA YES YES YES
>>21669225Happy for ya, anon.
>>21669232you shouldn't be, i'm going to spiral into debt at this rate
>>21669236Consider which assets can appreciate.
>>21669254*wonders if his depravity would be considered an asset*
>>21667568CTC in a teapot with a fine filter.Add water at full rolling boil.Brew 2 minutes.Generous splash of cold 2% milk in the mug.Pour in the tea.No need to stir.Milk lowers the temperature to drinkable level immediately.Lovely.I don't care about sports.
Has anyone imported a teacup or pot since the US FDA clearance started? There's a few teacup/saucer plates I want in taobao but I'm so hesitant to getting it discarded (cainiao shipping)
>>21670427Is there some headache around teaware outside of tariffs/de minimis? I didn't hear anything.
>>21670448tableware is under the fda and all shipments must be fda cleared or they'll get confiscated. it was a lesser part of the ban on foreign cosmetics, etc from a few months ago when they said all shipments must clear regardless of minimus or not. I haven't imported anything since then.>https://www.strtrade.com/trade-news-resources/str-trade-report/trade-report/july/fda-updating-import-operations[spoiler] https://www.reddit.com/r/TrumpTariffNews/comments/1mdi8mk/fda_announces_all_unregisteredunapproved_products/> Packages that declare unapproved brands will be inspected and each item will have its bar code scanned, accessing the FDA products database. If the product is not approved, it will be seized and discarded.[/spoiler]
>>21650610>demure editionnothing you fucking poofters say or do is demure.
>>21670547Agreed. Puerh, hei cha, oolongs, and aged whites are pretty rugged and masculine.
>>21670544>The FDA are investigating your fucking teapots nowWhat the shit. Guess it's time to shop Etsy or something and see about domestic potters. If they even exist out there.
>>21670825There's actually a surprising amount available on ebay. Everyone trying to make ends meet by selling their Chinese autism dispensers. I'm actually really taken with this one. I never owned a Gaiwan, just a cheap travel kit for my gongfu brewing, and I wonder if this and a matching cup might be my first big step.
>>21670904just make sure the listings are already in the us though
>>21670914Don't worry I already did. Easy toggle in the filters This is about 10 dollar shipping a package but the seller page says they can bundle items to save a little bit so that'll be nice if I pull the trigger.
>>21670904NiceIs it some clay with big particulate in it? Not seen a material quite like that for teaware
